Chapter 10: Rose Manor (IX) The Prisoner's Dilemma

Lin Chen was a high-achieving student in the real world. At this moment, hearing Qi Si’s pointers, he immediately understood the crux of the problem.

Shen Ming, the most capable among them, had already met with misfortune; the difficulty of this dungeon was self-evident. Once the players realized that it was difficult to clear the level through normal means—such as gathering clues or deciphering rules—they would likely commit any immoral act to survive.

The original team dungeon had effectively been transformed into a zero-sum game. No wonder Qi Si was unwilling to share clues at the start and claimed he couldn't trust the others.

Having lived in a society governed by the rule of law for twenty years, Lin Chen refused to believe such things could happen, yet he found himself at a loss for how to refute it.

"But we are all human. Why has it come to this?" Lin Chen said stammeringly. "We should have pooled our clues, tried to cooperate against the anomalies, and found a way to clear the level together..."

"Have you heard of the Prisoner's Dilemma?" Qi Si prompted him skillfully. "Cooperating to decipher the world-view is indeed the best choice, but the chain of suspicion objectively exists. We cannot be certain if others harbor malicious intent. The first person to disclose clues will inevitably fall into an information disadvantage; their survival depends entirely on the kindness or cruelty of others."

He paused and let out a long sigh. "No one is willing to entrust their fate to someone else, so this was a dead end from the very start."

Lin Chen argued quietly, "But normally, no one would want to harm others, right?"

"How can you be so naive?" Qi Si laughed. "You must realize that humans evolved from beasts. Self-interest and bloodlust are memes etched into our instincts. Children are born knowing how to lie, even torturing insects or trampling ants for no reason. As they grow older and their power increases, thoughts of harming others often flash through their minds."

"School bullying, street brawls, workplace harassment, oppression both bloody and bloodless—harming others for profit is written in our genes. Only refraining from harm requires a reason, such as fear of trouble, fear of one's own fragile body being destroyed by the collective, or simply because... playing by the rules of morality is a more convenient way to gain benefits."

"In reality, thanks to the constraints of the state's monopoly on violence, the risk of harming others is almost always far greater than the potential gain. But in this game, there are no laws and no evidence left behind. Do you think the risk compares to the gain?"

Lin Chen subconsciously followed this logic and soon realized that if the worst were to happen and players began killing each other, newcomers like him would undoubtedly become the victims.

His heart skipped a beat, and he looked up sharply at Qi Si. The latter lowered his eyes at the perfect moment, smiling bitterly. "I have always loathed that rule of the jungle, simply because I know there is no absolute victor; even the fiercest beast has a day when its strength runs dry. I firmly believe that peace and unity are better for everyone's survival, but now, I don't know who to trust anymore."

"Shen Ming, a player on his third dungeon, died on the first night; Chang Xu, who shared his room, is highly suspicious. Ye Zi clearly knew Shen Ming in the real world but deliberately hid it; she is equally untrustworthy. Zou Yan’s emotions are too stable, as if she had anticipated everything long ago. There are many questionable points about her..."

Speaking of this, Qi Si’s voice revealed a hint of exhaustion and fragility: "You are the only one I can trust."

"Of course, it seems you only have me to trust as well."

Qi Si possessed an incredibly deceptive appearance—soft features, pale lips—looking completely non-threatening, even calm and easygoing, making people instinctively view him as a trustworthy friend.

After the episode before sleep last night, Lin Chen had already set aside his doubts about Qi Si's identity. Upon hearing these words, he realized for the first time how luxurious "trust" was in a supernatural game.

He was in a position of weakness; trusting Qi Si was his only choice. Yet Qi Si, an experienced veteran player, was willing to trust a newcomer like him and even took the initiative to say such things to seek his trust...

Even though he only had pale excuses and no evidence to verify his own identity and cause of death; even though Qi Si hadn't fully believed him yesterday, yet now he was willing to take such a risk...

A strand of guilt surged in Lin Chen’s heart. Did a newcomer like him, who couldn't do anything, really deserve such trust and respect?

"I shouldn't have told you these things, I'm sorry." Qi Si seemed to have thought of something and smiled self-deprecatingly. "Saying all this at a time like this serves no purpose other than adding to your pressure."

"Let’s focus on finding a way to decipher the rules and clear the dungeon. Once we unravel the world-view, none of those situations will happen."

Hearing Qi Si say this, Lin Chen subconsciously nodded heavily in agreement.

Then he heard the former say gently, "Go bring those notes from the room out here. We’ll read them in the hallway."

"Ah? Why?"

"It’s more open here. It’ll be easier to run if something happens."

"Oh, oh!"

Watching the back of his temporary teammate as he hurried away, Qi Si picked up an apple, took a bite, and chewed slowly.

Admittedly, while stupidity sometimes made him nauseous, most of the time it was quite cute...

He dared to make it up, and Lin Chen actually dared to believe it...

Such an easily fooled fellow—perhaps he could be used repeatedly?

Lin Chen returned to Qi Si’s side clutching a pile of notes, just in time to see the latter calmly wiping his fingers with a napkin.

Completely unaware that he had just been upgraded from a "disposable tool" to "recyclable trash," he panted, "Brother Qi, I'm back!"

Qi Si snapped out of his thoughts, lifted his eyes, and asked with concern, "Did you encounter any danger?"

Lin Chen shook his head, moved. "No! Thank you for your concern, Brother Qi!"

"I see..." Qi Si pulled a blade from his bracelet and held it between his fingers, turning his back. "Read the contents of the notes to me. I’ll keep watch; that way, I can react in time if there is any danger."

Lin Chen nodded and began to read with clear enunciation.

...

[My chest is decaying]

[Flesh and blood spread upon the ground]

[Roses dwell here]

[To endure with me tomorrow]

...

[They say she is the most beautiful girl, and she is indeed beautiful, far more beautiful than me. I believe she will be the most perfect girl in the world; she will be, I hope she is.]

...

[Why does she never look at me? Why are those beautiful eyes of hers filled with tears? Why, having become so beautiful, does she not guard this treasure carefully?]

[I will not let her see him again. I only need to gently nudge the hand of the clock to change time...]

...

[She is about to wither, the doctors say. It is because of heartbreak. She is heartbroken for that hateful man! That bastard should go to hell!]

[No, she would never think that way; she is far kinder than me...]

...

[Everyone thinks I am the one who survived, but I am not. It was my sister who survived; the one who died of illness was me.]

...

[We have both survived, and she is still withering, but there is still a way... I will love her forever, and I will cherish her perfection even more than she does herself.]

...

Lin Chen’s voice remained steady. It seemed he hadn't encountered anything anomalous from start to finish, quite different from the experience Qi Si had when he opened the notes last night.

Qi Si turned around suspiciously and glanced at the spread-out notes. What met his eyes were layers of black smoke that almost obscured his vision; within them, phantom shadows of blood-colored vines seemed to sway and grow before scattering into a pool of red light.

The anomaly lasted only a moment, like a hallucination. As his vision settled and cleared, Qi Si saw the yellowed pages covered in earthworm-like English handwriting, crooked and distorted, creating a sense of a "textual uncanny valley."

The only recognizable parts were the four lines of poetry on the title page and the five diary entries, which were translated into Chinese on the system interface the moment his gaze touched them.

Was the crisis only targeted at specific people, or did it have a time limit, dissipating after a certain period? Qi Si stroked his chin, lost in thought.

"It’s headless and tailless; I have no idea what it's talking about." Lin Chen was unaware of what Qi Si was focused on.

A barrage of melodramatic plots he had seen on some website drifted through his mind. He rubbed his nose in embarrassment and muttered, "Sounds like a tragic unrequited love. It feels so morbid and twisted..."

Qi Si had a new hypothesis and clicked his tongue lightly. "Normal people don't write diaries."

Lin Chen pricked up his ears, preparing to listen to the expert’s explanation, but Qi Si changed the subject: "There are many missing time periods in the records. There must be more clues in the other players' rooms."

Lin Chen asked, "What should we do then?" Go steal the clues?

Qi Si looked up at the damp ceiling. "Let’s go check the third floor."

"Oh... ah?"

"It’s not advisable to clash with other players in the short term. The only locations left for us to explore are the garden and the third floor, and I choose the third floor." Qi Si looked into Lin Chen’s eyes, his voice calm.

"It’s already this late, and they haven't gone upstairs yet. They couldn't have ordered another table full of food because they weren't full. I suspect they have mostly gone to the garden. As a location that carries risk, the third floor is generally not considered a priority, so there must be plenty of fresh clues left for us."

Lin Chen shook his head repeatedly. "But... but if we get caught by Miss Anna, we’re done for..."

Qi Si patted Lin Chen on the shoulder to reassure him. "Well, we’ll be fine if we don’t get caught."

"How can we not get caught?" Lin Chen wailed, his face falling. "Miss Anna is here, there, and everywhere. Who knows when she’ll suddenly head upstairs..."

"You go upstairs to scout, and I will go to lure Miss Anna away and try to stall her."

Upon hearing the words "go upstairs to scout," Lin Chen’s face turned pale; he instinctively wanted to refuse.

Then, he heard Qi Si’s arrangement for him.

Taking the initiative to lure Miss Anna away and stalling her for a while—this was undoubtedly the more dangerous and difficult task.

"I trust you, and you trust me; this is our advantage over the other players. While they are timid and hesitant, only we can explore the third floor through cooperation and planning. If we don’t go to the third floor, how can we gather all the clues and clear the dungeon?"

Qi Si injected a dose of motivation into his tool, then looked away, adding with a feigned apology, "I may not be able to stall her for long. You should prioritize scouting the terrain and determine if there are other NPCs on the third floor. It would be best if you can gather more information, but if not, that will be fine."

Lin Chen listened with his head bowed, ashamed of his momentary retreat.

The other party had taken the initiative to shoulder the greater responsibility, while all he had to do was a simple scouting mission—which might not even be helpful for clearing the level...

He had always prided himself on being responsible. How did he become so timid and cowardly, like a turtle retracting into its shell, the moment he entered this supernatural game?

Thinking of this, Lin Chen no longer hesitated. He clenched his fists and said, "I... I will do my best!"